Gas Station (2000)

In a short timeframe, GAS STATION takes a hard, uncompromising look at the kind of events that could actually happen at a typical gas station in a typical German big city.

A bleeding and unconscious teenager, apparently a skinhead, lies on the floor of a gas station aisle. A second young skinhead runs out the door and down the street. Stunned, several young people are standing around the shop.

On a grey and cold Sunday in November, four skinheads gather as usual on the grounds of a low-traffic gas station. Bored and restless, the young people begin to harass the occasional gas station customers. Their interest is concentrated on people who they perceive as being “different” or “foreign”.
The scene of the events shifts into the interior of the filling station.
The young men want to prove their “coolness” to each other. They become more violent. They start breaking things in the salesroom, while one goes after the cashier, a female student of Turkish extraction. But does one of the skinheads know her from somewhere? Wasn’t there some past form of contact with this person?
By discriminating against assorted people like black people or transvestites, who are accidentally involved in the events as customers, the plot reaches its climax in the brutal and unmanageable escalation of events.
One of the skinheads is knocked down and falls to the ground.

Who was it? What happened? What were the motivations? What happened between one of the skinheads and the cashier?

Questions raised by the film are partly answered and at the same time leave room for further reflection.

Without blurring the line between the perpetrators and the victims, the film shows how two different sides can converge and even experience a role change.

Developed out of an anti-racism and tolerance training (A. R. T),GAS STATION was realized with the help of a group of young people who were involved in a working group for intercultural understanding – for the most part pupils at a Munich high school. The film is geared to young people and is designed to contribute to education on racism and discrimination themes. It is primarily intended for screening in schools and youth facilities. Teaching material is included; a short interview with the filmmakers about their intentions follows the feature film.